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The British Army 1914-1918 PDF

577 Pages·2014·16.75 MB·English
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CONTENTS TITLE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS CHAPTER ONE BACKGROUND A Century of Peace?; Reorganization of the Army; Britain’s Standing Army; The Territorial Force; The Indian Army; Guarding the Empire; Irish Home Rule – The Curragh Incident; The War Book; The Countdown to War; Timeline of British Operations on the Western Front; The BEF’s Sector CHAPTER TWO MOBILIZATION AND TRAINING Deploying the British Expeditionary Force; Reservists; The Territorial Force; Deployment of the Territorial Divisions; Kitchener’s Recruitment Campaign; Preparing the New Armies; Medical Classification; Compulsory Service; Maintaining the British Army; Australian Imperial Force; New Zealand Expeditionary Force; Canadian Expeditionary Force; East African Divisions and South African Troops; The Indian Army; Smaller Dominions and Colonies CHAPTER THREE THE HIGHER DIRECTION OF THE WAR The War Council; The War Cabinet; The Supreme War Council; The Army Council; Chief of the Imperial General Staff; Home Defence Forces; General Headquarters, British Expeditionary Force; The Armies; Army Operations; The Corps; Other Theatres CHAPTER FOUR ARMS, CORPS AND REGIMENTS Arms of the Service; Infantry Regiments CHAPTER FIVE THE ARMS The Infantry; Types of Infantry Battalion; The Royal Artillery; The Cavalry; The Royal Engineers; The Signal Service; Labour Units; Tunnelling Companies; The Special Brigade; Camouflage; Specialist Engineer Companies; The Machine Gun Corps; The Tank Corps; Intelligence CHAPTER SIX THE SERVICES Army Service Corps; Labour Corps; Changes Behind the Lines; Lines of Communication; Royal Army Medical Corps; Health; Army Ordnance Corps; Supporting Services CHAPTER SEVEN DIVISIONAL ORGANIZATION AND HISTORY The Infantry Division; Cavalry Divisions; Mounted and Cyclist Divisions; Infantry Division Histories; Cavalry and Mounted Division Histories CHAPTER EIGHT THE SOLDIER 1914 Uniform and Equipment; The Daily Ration; Responsibilities and Badges of Rank; Campaign Medals; Gallantry Medals; Crime and Punishment CHAPTER NINE WEAPONS Revolvers; Rifles; Periscopes; Bayonets; Grenades; Trench Weapons; Swords; Machine Guns; Trench Mortars; Flamethrowers; Field Artillery; Medium and Heavy Artillery; Artillery Ammunition; Ammunition Statistics; Anti-Aircraft Guns; Tanks; Gas; Experimental Section CHAPTER TEN TACTICS Open Warfare in 1914; Trench Warfare; Life in the Trenches; Preparing for Battle; On the Defensive CHAPTER ELEVEN MAPPING Trench Maps CHAPTER TWELVE BEHIND THE LINES Training Facilities; Soldiers at Rest; Entertainment; Auxiliary Social Services; Women’s Voluntary Organizations; Organizing Women’s Labour; Home Leave CHAPTER THIRTEEN LEGACY The Armistice; Demobilization; Cemeteries and Memorials; The British Legion; War Memorials in the United Kingdom; The Cost; Poetry and Literature; Trench Poetry and Songs; Propaganda and the War Artists APPENDIX 1 PRINCIPAL COMMANDERS OF THE BRITISH AND DOMINION FORCES APPENDIX 2 ABBREVIATIONS APPENDIX 3 SOLDIERS’ SLANG BIBLIOGRAPHY COPYRIGHT ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS When I started work on this book, I never realised what a journey of discovery I was embarking on; many people have helped me along that journey. Dr John Bourne, Director of the Centre for First World War Studies at Birmingham University, has been a constant help, clearing up a host of queries and pointing me towards useful sources. Many of the photographs come from the Imperial War Museum’s Department of Photographs where the staff’s friendly and professional guidance aided me in my arduous search for relevant illustrations. Countless members of staff at libraries across the north of England, including Leeds City, Leeds University, Manchester and Bradford City Libraries have patiently sought out material. Without their assistance my work would have been impossible. Finally, I would like to thank Nick Reynolds of Sutton Publishing Ltd and Donald Sommerville for guiding me, seemingly effortlessly, through the writing and preparation of this book. I hope that this book increases the understanding of what the men and women endured between 1914 and 1918 and it is dedicated to my son Alex; let us hope that his generation learns from their experiences. CHAPTER ONE BACKGROUND A C P ? ENTURY OF EACE The year 1815 marked the end of Great Britain’s involvement in European campaigns for nearly a century (with the brief exception of the Crimean War). While political and military struggles flared across the continent, the British Empire expanded round the world. Private enterprise conquered territories in the search for new resources while the Army followed and the Royal Navy patrolled the oceans, protecting the shipping routes. China was a source for opium and tea while Burma was a major supplier of teak, but, after complaining about trading, both were forced to submit to British rule; China handed over Hong Kong while Burma was totally annexed. India was Britain’s main concern but attempts to secure the North-West Frontier in 1838 to protect against a feared Russian invasion ended in disaster; fifty years of skirmishing followed before the Afghans accepted a British envoy in Kabul. There was trouble in Lahore in 1848 when the Sikhs invaded the British East India Company’s territories and in 1857 Indian Sepoys mutinied, massacring British garrisons before they were suppressed. After quelling the uprisings the Army took control of the East India Company’s area, starting the era of the British Raj and peace in India. A final uprising by Chitral tribesmen at the end of the century resulted in the annexation of the area. Tensions with Russia flared in 1854 and Britain sent 30,000 troops to the Crimea as part of an alliance with France, Turkey and Sardinia to prevent the Russians extending their influence over Turkey. The Army suffered setbacks at Balaclava and Inkerman, while thousands died of sickness during the siege of Sevastopol. A new medal, the Victoria Cross, was introduced as the highest award for valour during the war and, when the French captured a key position in the Sevastopol fortress the following year, the Russians withdrew and made peace. In Africa, Britain had annexed the Cape Colony from the Dutch East India Company as early as 1814, establishing a toehold at the southern tip of the continent, but further colonization was delayed by the threat of malaria. The annexation caused tension with the Boers and they withdrew into the Transvaal and the Orange Free State to retain their independence. The discovery of quinine in 1850 allowed travellers to explore more readily and, once they returned with news of vast untapped riches, European traders with private armies staked their claims. Professional armies soon followed to protect the new provinces. The British Army pursued an aggressive occupation policy, annexing Basutoland, the Gold Coast, the Transvaal and Zululand (where British troops suffered a humiliating defeat at Isandlwana). An invasion of Natal in 1881 resulted in the First Boer War and stirred the Boers to arm themselves with modern rifles and guns bought from Europe. British troops landed in Ashanti in 1896, extending the Empire’s hold on the west coast of Africa. Great Britain had staked its claims in North Africa by purchasing the Egyptian share in the French Suez Canal project, and then took over the Sudan in 1882 after crushing a rebellion by the Mahdists and the Dervishes. General Gordon’s attempt to rescue isolated garrisons ended in disaster and his force was cut off and massacred in Khartoum. General Kitchener finally regained control of the Sudan after the Battle of Omdurman in 1898. Germany, a late starter in the colonization of Africa, claimed rights to German South-West Africa (now Namibia), Kamerun (Cameroon), Togo and German East Africa (Tanzania), stirring protests among the other European powers. The German chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, held a conference in Berlin in 1884 where the European powers agreed to divide Africa up to avoid conflict in Europe. It did not mean peace for the natives, however. Soon after Cecil Rhodes’ small army occupied Matabeleland with the help of the new Maxim machine gun, renaming the area Rhodesia. Trouble again flared in South Africa when gold was discovered in the Transvaal in 1886, sparking an influx of settlers eager to stake their claim. An abortive raid in 1896 stirred resentment and when the British failed to secure rights for their citizens in 1899, the Boers retaliated by invading the Cape Colony, besieging the towns of Ladysmith, Mafeking and Kimberley. The British Army responded with huge task forces but setbacks at places such as Colenso and Spion Kop showed that it was lacking in many areas when British soldiers were confronted by determined men armed with modern weapons. It was the start of a new learning curve, one that would stand the British Army in good stead for the war in Europe a decade later. Overwhelming numbers and an aggressive resettlement policy, in which families were imprisoned in concentration camps, forced the Boers to roam the veldt as guerrillas and, when supplies dwindled, they eventually sued for peace. The annexation of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State meant that one-third of Africa was now British. R A EORGANIZATION OF THE RMY Between 1899 and 1902 the British Army was engaged in its first major campaign of the twentieth century, facing the well equipped and highly motivated Boers in South Africa. The experience was a rude awakening for the War Office and high command; it was time to reform all areas of the armed services. A report was published in 1903 and the Commander-in-Chief, Field Marshal Lord Roberts, implemented many of the recommendations, but the Cabinet refused to sanction conscription and plans to expand the Army had to be scrapped. Lord Esher’s committee strengthened the Committee of Imperial Defence and set up the Army Council to replace the post of commander-in-chief in February 1904. Members reported to the Secretary of State for War on a wide range of military, civil and financial matters. Before long they had authorized the establishment of a General Staff and its three main branches, setting up

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An indispensable guide to the British Army during the First World War covers the men who fought for Britain: from the ‘Old Contemptibles’ – the professionals who stemmed the German advance at the beginning of the war – to the Territorials, the ‘Derby Men’, Kitchener’s ‘New Army’ an
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Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.